Month: March 2017

Die Deutsche Telekom hat in Deutschland im Festnetz einen Zuwachs von über 670.000 Anschlüssen erreicht, einfache Anschlüsse gingen hingegen zurück. Doch die Beteiligung an der BT Group drückte die Ergebnisse. (Telekom, Handy)

Die Hacks von mehr als einer Milliarde Yahoo-Accounts verringern das Einkommen von Yahoo-Chefin Marissa Mayer. In einer unabhängigen Untersuchung der Angriffe werden schwere Vorwürfe gegen das Management des Unternehmens erhoben. (Marissa Mayer, Yahoo)

Deutlich günstiger als ein Kabelvertrag und dafür mit mehr Funktionen und Cloud-Anbindung: Google will Kabel-TV über Youtube streamen - zunächst allerdings nur in den USA. (Youtube, DVB-T)

Gesucht: Deutschlands erste Astronautin. Gefunden: sechs flugtaugliche Frauen. Mindestens eine soll ins All. Fehlen nur noch 30 Millionen Euro für Training und Flug. Ein Bericht von Alina Schadwinkel (Raumfahrt, DLR)

Der Game Mode soll PC-Spielen mehr Ressourcen zur Verfügung stellen. Microsoft hat jetzt genau erklärt, wie das funktioniert, und eine weitere spannende Neuerung für Windows 10 vorgestellt. (GDC 17, Microsoft)

Spotify testet mit Bestandskunden deren Reaktion auf ein Streamingangebot, bei dem Musik in CD-Qualität übertragen werden soll. Das Angebot unter dem Arbeitstitel Spotify Hi-Fi ist allerdings noch nicht offiziell. (Spotify, Streaming)

Die Deutsche Telekom hat ihre Datentarife für Vertragskunden überarbeitet. In allen kostenpflichtigen Tarifen verdoppelt sich das ungedrosselte Datenvolumen für alle Kunden. Der Basispreis bleibt jeweils unverändert. (Telekom, Mobilfunk)

Free-to-air TV in the UK is almost universal, with consumers offered extensive programming via an antennae or satellite dish. However, an option to view the content over the Internet hasn’t always been available.

Back in 2007, TVCatchup spotted a gap in the market and over the years has been streaming TV shows to the masses for free but without rightsholders’ permission. In many markets TVCatchup would be immediately considered a ‘pirate’ service but the site had an unusual defense.

Under Section 73 of the UK’s Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, copyright in a wireless broadcast is not infringed when a party re-transmits that content by cable within “the area of initial broadcast”.

The legislation was drawn up to support the development of cable infrastructure in the 1980s and 1990s but TVCatchup felt that it applied to them when they captured UK broadcasters’ signals and retransmitted them over the Internet.

Needless to say, broadcasters including ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 felt differently. They took the service to court, arguing that the platform was illegal under Section 20 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (CDPA), which declares infringement when a copyrighted broadcast is communicated to the public.

The High Court sided with TVCatchup, so the broadcasters took the case to the Court of Appeal, arguing that Internet streaming services are not entitled to protection under legislation intended for cable operators.

In common with other complex copyright cases, the Court of Appeal sought clarification from the Court of Justice of the European Union. Taking the view that section 73 of the CDPA should be interpreted in the light of Article 9 of Directive 2001/29, the Court of Appeal asked several questions, including whether the term “cable” could refer to Internet services.

The CJEU handed down its decision yesterday, ruling that when TVCatchup streamed copyrighted content without permission, that amounted to a communication to the public and was therefore illegal.

“The principal objective of that directive is to establish a high level of protection of authors, allowing them to obtain an appropriate reward for the use of their works, including on the occasion of communication to the public,” the Court wrote.

“Having regard to that high level of protection of authors, the Court …. held that the concept of ‘communication to the public’ … must be interpreted broadly … and that a retransmission by means of an internet stream, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, constitutes such a communication.”

Additionally, the CJEU found that Article 9 of Directive 2001/29 does not permit “national legislation which provides that copyright is not infringed in the case of the immediate retransmission by cable, including, where relevant, via the internet.”

That statement is effectively a huge thumbs-down to Section 73 of the CDPA on which TVCatchup had formed its defense.

While that will be bad news for TVCatchup, it will be of little hardship to the UK Government. The Digital Economy Bill currently moving through Parliament contains an amendment to remove Section 73 from the CDPA, with the government noting during a consultation that it was never intended to apply to Internet services.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

Was würden höhere Auflösungen bei VR-Headsets bringen, die große Bedeutung von Videos für Oculus Rift und Gear VR: Golem.de hat mit Oculus-Mitgründer und Rift-Plattformchef Nate Mitchell über Virtual Reality gesprochen. Von Peter Steinlechner (Oculus Rift, Interview)

Anwender von Windows 10 erhalten mehr Freiheit. Mit der Einführung des Creators Updates lassen sich künftige Updates des Betriebssystems besser steuern. Damit soll erreicht werden, dass Update-Einspielungen nicht mehr zu einem unerwünschten Zeitpunkt passieren. (Windows 10, Microsoft)